Flow measuring device



Patented Nov. 25, 1952 FLOW MEASURINGv DEVICE.

Julius-:Agin;RiverEdge; N. J assignor to Patter-r son' 0. stewartBronxville N. Y;

Application May43,,1950, Serial No. 159,720,. g, a

2 1 Glaims.-- (Cl. 121-448) Thisinventi'on relates to flow measuringdevices for liquids and other fluids and" in; particu= lar'to measuring"devices designed to be connected' in seriesiwith a source of fluid and.a consuming apparatus;

Devices of this type, having aninletl and an outlet adapted for'connectionto an incoming and an, outgoing channel oi an existin conduiti system,- have already been proposed; 7 In one type, ;the1fluid isalternately switched' to twov mechanically interconnected"chambers ofvarijr ablevo'lume, the'expansion of. one chamber due. to theinfiux offluid causing the other, chamber to' discharge the fluid previouslyadmitted, there: tOTiIItOJthG'OUtgOiI'lE channel. This systemhas the"advantage thattno materialipart of'the fluid can bypass. the countingmechanism, of which the variable chambers form, a part, sothatflevencomparatively small quantities of. fluid, per unit of time, may bemeasured. A difliculty with such devices, however, liesin the, factthatthe switch-t ing mechanism must be maintainedoperativeif fluidis topass from the sourcetothe consumer, so that power .failure willinterrupt theafiuid, flow; another, related difli'culty is; the ,needfor bodily removing the equipment after the measur: ing is completed,vor for providing some. meg l chanicall bypass to be rendered effectivewhen measuring is discontinued.,.

An object of this inventionlisto. provide a de -30 vice of-the characterdescribed inwhich the dis advantages enumerated above areavoidedh I Moreparticularly, it isvan object of ,thelpresentn invention to providesuch. a. device-which, can be, 1 placed in operation or inactivatedby.the actual-,- tion of a simple switch, without physical changes in thefluidjpath, and which. will not .vvorkan interruption of, flow when soinactivated,

A further objectofthe invention is topr-ovide, a flow measuring device.particularly adapted. for installation into an automotive vehicle forthe purpose of, metering the fuelconsumed over a. given distance oftravel.

According to, alieature of the-invention, the selectiveswitching of thefluid into, one or the 45 other chamber, is accomplished by. electricvalve: actuating, means so arranged. that, upon-,fore tuitousorintentional, de-energization of said valvev actuating means, .a, pathis automaticallyestablished for the ,fluid which bypasses the, measuringchambers and through which the fluid-mayfreely flow'from the inlet ofthesdee vice to the outletthereof.

According toanother feature ofth'einvention, there are provided twopreferably electrically controlled, independently operable valves; cachhaving a normal or unoperated -and -an' ofi-nor mal or operatedposition; whichWhen-simultane ously, operated or unoperated establishthesaid, bypass-for the fluid; I

The; above and other-objects andv featureswof I the invention willbecome apparent fromthe following description, reference: being had tothe accompanying drawing the "sole-figure of which shows asomewhatschematicrepresentation 0% a measuring device according-- to"the i-nventione Referringto the drawing in detail, there shown-afiuidifiow measuringdevice-according! to the invention having aconduitIt for incomingfiuid anda-conduit-' II" for outgoing 'fiuidw Conduit"Ii) is j-separated into two branches; I 0a and I019,- conduit beinglikewise separatedintm two branches--l-la and I I-b.- I Branches a and IIa merge toform a conduit" l=2a,-whi1ebranches- Iilb and IIbmerge toform-a conduit-12b, Conduits I2-a and I222 lead tohollow-cylindricalchambers I3a' and 13b; respectively -through openings;Ma, l lb provided'at respective ends:- thereof; The walls opposite theseopenings-'are formed-by flexible diaphragm-s +500 and- I512; respectively, coupled together by-a' rigid bar or'-piston I6; ChambersI-3a,- I3b-are-fastened- 'to a-- mounting plate II- to which are also-securedtwobearings I800," I-8b adapted slidingly to-= accom modatebarlii.

Pivotally -fixed' to the mounting plate I I by apin I9' isan armwhich-enagesthrough'its-- forked extremity-21' a"pin' 22 projecting from the:bar: I6. Pin' 22 is located, at substantiallyithe", centeriof the bar I6-, while pin I 9" is locatedon: aline substantially midwaybetweenthechambers- I300, 131); A thirdpin 23 projects 'fromthearm 20ata point betweenthepivot pin I9" and the fork- 2I and oscillatesbetween a pairbftonguesl 50a, 50?) which it alternately'engagesin theextremepositions of its movement; tongue; 50a forms part'of a pairofnormally, open,,or make,v i contactsgclosed by the'pin 23 in. oneposition thereof while tongue 5ilbforms part of apairoif normally,closedrorl break,contacts opened by A the pin 2 3"inits other'position.i

At the extremity ofithe arm Zi'loppositathe; fork 2|, a pawl 24ispivoted about apin 25'. leaf' spring 26" urges the pawlin; a, clockwisedi IBCtiOIT, against a. stop 2T forminga projection of the'arm. The pawl24 engages a, ratchet Wheel,,-. 28 on whichis mounted; a step-down. ear;asr-l sembly comprising gears 29. andgfl fl. AfilXed,.,to. l. gear, 30is a pointer 3 I whichw sweeps over-iaicalis brateddial 32;

A valve piston 33a slides within branches |a and lob, selectivelychanneling liquid incoming from conduit I0 through one or the other ofthe aforementioned branches; a similar valve piston 33b slides withinbranches Na and llb, selectively channeling outgoing liquid from one orthe other of the branches into conduit Pistons 33a and 33b arerespectively coupled through rigid shafts 34a, 34b to ferromagneticplungers 35a, 35b. Plungers 35a, 35b comprise the cores of solenoids36a, 362), respectively, and bear upon compressive springs 31a, 311),respectively, which act to displace the plungers downwardly when theassociated solenoids are de-energized. Annular projections 38a, 38bbelow valves 33a, 33b, respectively, limit the amplitude of displacementof the plungers, the projections 38a, 38b being positioned sufiicientlybelow the confluences of branches Illa, I01) and branches Ila, Ilb toallow the valves 33a, 33b to assume positions clear of theaforementioned confluences (as shown in connection with valve 33a).

An electrical circuit comprising contacts 59a, 50b, relay 5|, switch 52,and battery 53 acts selectivelyto energize the solenoids 36a, 36b in amanner shortly to be explained. The fixed contacts associated withtongue 50a, 50b are grounded;

tongue 50b is connected to the left-hand armature of relay 5|, While thetongue 50a is connected to the left-hand contact of relay 5| and to oneside of the relay Winding. The other side of the winding of relay 5| isconnected in one path over switch 52 to grounded battery 53, and inanother path through the right-hand armature and reversing contactsthereof to the coil of either one of the solenoids 36a, 36b, dependingon the state of energization of the relay. The other side of eachsolenoid coil is grounded.

The drawing illustrates a condition immedi- 1 ately following theclosing of make contacts 5011. by contact pin 23. This closing actionhas taken place as a consequence of the distended condition of diaphragm[5b due to the filling of chamber |3a with fluid. The bulging ofdiaphragm |5b has moved the rigid bar Hi to the left, causing the arm 20to rotate counterclockwise and bringing pin 23 to bear upon tongue 50a.Closing of this contact has energized relay 5| through an obvious pathto battery and ground, and/has caused the relay to look over itslefthand armature through contacts 50b to ground. Solenoid 36b has beenenergized, causing plunger 35b to move up into the position shown andbringing valve piston 3322 into position above the confluence ofbranches Ha, llb. Solenoid 36a is de-energized and its core, plunger35a, is consequently shown in a lower position whence it has been urgedby compression spring 31a. Valve 33a bears against annular projection38a and lies below th confluence of branches ma, |0b.

Fluid subsequently incoming through conduit ID will be channeled throughbranch Illa and conduit |2a into chamber 3a, which will now start tofill and will cause bar I6 to move to the right. This movement of bar Itforces fluid out of chamber I31), and out of the system through conduitl2b, branch Nb and conduit II. It Will be noted that although makecontacts 50a are opened by movement of bar It to the right, relay 5|remains energized over its locking circuit through contacts 531).Ratchet Wheel 28 will remain motionless since pawl 24 is at this instantmoving in a clockwise direction. I

The action just described will continue until diaphragm |5a is in thedistended condition shown in dotted lines, and diaphragm |5b is in theslackened position also illustrated by a dotted outline. Contact pin 23will now bear upon tongue 50b, opening its break contacts andde-energizing relay 5|. Solenoid 36a will now be energized, causingplunger 35a and piston 33a to move up; solenoid 361) will bede-energized, causing plunger 35b and piston 33b to move down. Thesolenoids will thus reverse their positions and an action preciselyopposite to that previously described will take place. Incoming fluidwill pass through conduit l0, branch lob and conduit |2b into chamberI3b, causing the latter to refill and forcing fluid out of chamber |3aby the thrust to the left of bar 5. The fluid discharge path is nowformed by conduit l2a, branch Ila and conduit The movement of bar It tothe left causes counterclockwise motion of arm 20 and pawl 24. Thismotion will enable the pawl to advance ratchet wheel 28, and throughstep-down gears 29 and 30 will effect movement of pointer 3| across dial32. The step-down gear assembly is provided to allow a relatively smallmovement of the pointer to correspond to large angular displacements ofthe ratchet wheel.

The bar l6 will continue to move to the left owing to the expansion ofchamber |3b until pin 23 is again brought to bear on tongue 50a, atwhich time the condition illustrated in the drawing will again obtainand the cyclical action previously described will be repeated.

It will thus be seen that each advance of the ratchet Wheel 28,corresponding to one unit on the calibrated dial 32, represents aquantity of fluid equal to that contained in the volume enclosed by thesolid and dotted lines indicating the distended and slackenedconditions, respectively, of diaphragm l5b, plus the volume enclosed bythe solid and dotted lines similarly indicating the extreme positions ofdiaphragm |5a. This quantity may easily be predetermined or establishedby calibrating measurements and the fluid flow read directly from thedial 32.

Since the system depends for its operation on a source of electricalpower (battery 53), it is of practical importance that failure of thispower should not interrupt the flow of fluid to the intendeddestination. Furthermore, it is extremely desirable that the powersource be utilized by the measuring system only when measurements areactually being carried on, in order to conserve power and reduce wear onthe system. It can be seen that both these requirement are met by theproposed structure.

Opening of the switch 52 disconnects power from the measuring system andis operatively equivalent to a power failure. Removal of the powersource deenergizes both solenoids, 36a and 36b, causing pistons 33a and33b to be forced against annular projections 38a and 38b, respectively.With the valves in this position, fluid may pass from incoming conduitl0 through branch Illa to branch Ma and out through conduit Thus theflow of fluid through the system is never blocked, even through themeasuring system is disabled. A similar result would be obtained if,through a wiring defect, the two solenoids were simultaneouslyenergized; in this event incoming fluid would pass through conduit IDand branch I01) and directly out through branch Nb and conduit I.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that-there exist, ineffect, two paths leading from the inlet ID to the outlet whilebypassing the' chambers I3a and 13b, one of these paths including thebranches Ida, Ila and the other the branches lllb, llb, and that thepistons 33a, 33b constitute mean controlled by the solenoids forblocking these paths as long as one, but not more than one, of thesesolenoids is energized.

The device above may be advantageously used in the metering of the fuelconsumption of, say, an automobile, expressed, for example, in fractionsof a gallon consumed per mile. In such a case the conduit i0 may beconnected in series with the fuel pump while the conduit I i may lead tothe carburetor. By closing the switch 52 and re-opening it, say,one-tenth of a mile thereafter, the number of miles per gallonobtainable with the vehicle may readily be computed from the advance ofthe pointer 31 over the dial 32.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the arrangementdescribed. and illustrated is subject to many variations and adaptationswithout departing from the scope of the invention; the embodimentparticularly described is to be considered as illustrative only and notto be construed in a limiting sense. Thus it will be understood thatpreferably electrical valve actuating means other than the solenoids maybe used for alternately connecting the two chambers to the fluid inlet,and outlet, respectively, or that switch-over means other than a relay,for

example a mechanical toggle switch, may be em ployed for the selectiveenergization of the valve actuating means. Also, any known mechanical orelectrical counting device may be substituted for the pawl and ratchetarrangement specifically disclosed.

Furthermore, the showing of the valves proper is strictly schematical,'it being apparent that other types of valves, e. g. such havingplungers displaceable in a transverse, rather than longitudinal,direction with respect to the fluid flow, may be utilized if necessaryor desirable.

What I claim as novel and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a fiow measuring device having two chambers and a pistonreciprocated by the alternate admission of a fiuid into said chambers,the combination, with switch-over means controlled by said piston, of apair of mechanically independent valves each having an operated and anunoperated position, first conduit means forming a fluid inlet pathleading to one of said valves, second conduit means forming a fiuidoutlet path leading away from the other of said valves, third conduitmeans extending from one of said chambers toward both of said valves andcom-- municating with said first and said second conduit means in theoperated position of said one and said other valve, respectively, fourthconduit means extending from the other of said chambers toward both ofsaid valves and communicating with said first and said second conduitmeans in the unoperated position of said one and said other valve,respectively, thereby creating a direct connection between said inletand outlet paths upon both of said valves occupying their unoperatedpositions, first and second electric valve actuating means controlled bysaid switch-over means for alternately operating a respective one ofsaid valves on each reciprocation or said piston, in a sense causingreversal of the movement of the latter, and first and second mechanicalvalve restoring means tendto maintain said valves, respectively, intheir unoperated positions.

2. In a flow measuring device having two chambers and a pistonreciprocated by the alternate admission of a fluid into said chambers,the combination, with switch-over means controlled by said piston, of apair of mechanically independent valves each having an operated and anunoperated position, first and second solenoid means controllingrespective ones or said valves and energizable to place said valves intheir operated positions, first and second spring means engagingrespective ones of said valves and tending to maintain same in theirunoperated positions in the ole-energized condition of the associatedsolenoid means, first conduit means forming a fluid inlet path leadingto one of said valves, second conduit means forming a fluid outlet pathleading away from the other of said valves, third conduit meansextending from one of said chambers toward both of said valves andcommunicating with said first and said second conduit means in theoperated position of said one and said other valve, respectively, andfourth conduit means extending from the other of said chambers towardboth of said valves and communicating with said first and said secondconduit means in the unoperated position of said one and said othervalve, respectively, thereby creating a direct connection between saidinlet and outlet paths upon both of said valves occupying theirunoperated positions, said switch-over means being connected to saidfirst and said second solenoid means for alternate energization thereof,on each reciprocation of said piston, in a manner causing reversal ofthe movement of the latter.

JULIUS AGIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 527,979 Henley et al Oct. 23,1894 648,947 Guvd May 8, 1900 855,892 Kendal June 4, 1907 1,470,381 LambOct. 9, 1923 2,014,664 Nicholls Sept. 27, 1935 2,118,079 Goode et al May24, 1938 2,372,813 Darling Apr. 3, 1945 2,392,536 Kline et a1 Jan. 8,1946

